


In All My Dreams I Drown

by V13



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Species Swap, What Have I Done, Zoras look more like merpeople, but if you get queasy at blood mentions you might not want to read, gorons and gerudo and rito remain the same, hylians still remain kind of the centerpiece of the races??, lorule is also it's own seperate kingdom seperated from hyrule by an ocean, sidon is a prince and a captain hell yeah, the only species that swap places are hylians and zora, the wounds aren't actually described in great detail, they don't got legs but they got tails, two tails i guess?? including the head tail???, zoras have cut off contact with everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-17 00:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10582677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V13/pseuds/V13
Summary: Prince Sidon always felt a connection to the sea. When he was young, he would dream of exploring the great ocean. However, he is older now and knows he has a duty as prince. Yet his father indulges him, with a little catch. He could captain a ship, but he would have to travel to the land of the Lorule to conduct a trade agreement. Although Sidon doesn’t particularly like politics, he readily agrees.He just didn’t expect to be saving someone.





	1. The Wreckage

Sidon knew that when he became a captain, there would be challenges that accompanied it. He knew they would be different than the challenges of a prince, but he had thought himself prepared anyways. How much more difficult could being a captain be than being a prince?

Well, for one, he wasn’t expecting to be calming his crew’s nerves all the damn time.

“S-sir, um..are you sure we should be heading this way? There have been reports of increased Zora activity in the area--”

“Yes, I’m quite sure, Nudge. There is no need to worry. The Zora only attack pirate ships, or ships that attack their pods. As we are just passing through, I’m sure they will not cause us any trouble,” Sidon replied, feeling as if that must’ve been his 50th time saying so (although it was more likely just the 3rd time he repeated himself).

“Sidon, perhaps it would be wise to let Gonzo steer for now. You should get some rest before we reach land,” His quartermaster, Adéwalé, suggested.

The prince found himself smiling a little (for only Adé would call him just by his name), as he replied, “Perhaps I should. Thank you, my friend. Gonzo, please take over for me.”

Gonzo didn’t say a word, he just nodded and took the wheel. Sidon found himself internally sighing in relief. He stretched his fingers and rolled his neck, all of the bones in said areas letting out a crack. He probably had been steering for a bit too long. Had Adé not said anything, he probably would’ve steered even longer. Not only would that have been bad for his health, but that could’ve also put his crew in danger. Although it was Adé’s job to look out for him and the crew, he felt grateful, and he made a mental note to do something nice for the man once they arrived on land.

When Sidon got to his private quarters, he sighed as looked at his reflection in the mirror. The circles under his eyes were more apparent, and his skin was noticeably darker than before. As he took out the hairband keeping his unruly black strands of hair in a ponytail, he couldn’t help but notice how _tired_ he looked. Being a captain was harder than he expected it to be, although he would never admit that out loud (if he did, Mipha would laugh at him and tell him “I told you so!”). He wouldn’t give up though. No, giving up simply wasn’t in his nature! Even if being a captain wasn’t his forte, he would accomplish his task.

But...he needed sleep before he did that. He couldn’t arrive in front of the Loruleans looking like a mess! He shrugged off the jacket of his uniform and untied his cravat, leaving them on the bottom corner of the bed, too tired to properly put them away. He sat on his bed and kicked off his shoes, not much caring about where they landed. He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes, and within seconds he was asleep.

 

 

“Captain!! Prince Sidon! Sir, please, get up!” That, along with loud knocks, was what awoke him.

And he oh so intelligently answered, “Huh?”

“We found a wreckage! There’s something moving in it, we think it might be a survivor!”

That had Sidon up. Life and death was something not to take lightly, after all. He struggled to find his boots, shoving them on roughly when he did and not even buckling the loose straps on them. He didn’t bother with anything else, looking quite the mess with his askew clothes and tousled hair.

He just about slammed the door open, and the boy who was waiting for him jumped in fright. He faintly remembered that his name was Niko, and he was one of the riggers on board who also acted as a cabin boy. He would regret this later, but he became annoyed when the boy simply stared at him. “Stop gaping like a fish and move aside,” He snapped, and that got Niko out of his stupor. He quickly obeyed, and Sidon rushed ahead of him to the deck.

The ship was almost tilting, because the whole crew was on one side of the deck just _looking_ at the wreckage they were anchored next to. Sidon shoved his way through the men, getting to the rail of the ship rather easily since the crew let the captain through without resistance. Indeed, in the wreckage, something was moving. All he could see was blue and red from the ship, but it was obviously humanoid.

Sidon then found himself growling. His men were just gawking, not even helping! Someone was in need and they did nothing! Adé, who could almost sense Sidon’s irritation, made his way to the prince’s side. However, before he could warn against doing anything stupid, Sidon yanked off his shirt and gave it to the quartermaster. All Adé could do was sputter before Sidon was jumping into the water.

There was shouting on deck, a chorus of “My prince, come back!” and “Captain overboard!” Sidon ignored them, in favor of swimming toward the wreckage. He was one of the best swimmers on board anyways, so it was probably best that he was the one in the water.

He weaved his way through the wreckage, pushing aside tatters of a sale and waterlogged wood. He grimaced upon sight of mauled bodies. They were pirates by the look of the clothes, but it still wasn’t pleasant to look at. The Zora were quite...thorough in their job. He understood why his crew were so nervous to take this route now.

He caught a flash of blue, and immediately focused on it. Wreckage still blocked his view, but from what he could see, there was still movement. As he swam closer, he noticed how much red there was. Belatedly, he realized it was blood, and whoever it was was bleeding out fast. He hurried his pace, not quite caring for his own well being at the moment.

Sidon gasped as in full view, the “person” was actually a Zora. He had never seen one before! But more pressing, was the fact that a sword was rammed straight through it’s stomach. With the amount of blood leaking out, he was sure sharks would soon come if he didn’t act fast.

“Young one! Please, if you can hear me, make a noise!” He said urgently. There was a momentary silence, and he could feel himself panicking, before the Zora made a strange humming noise.  Sidon felt a slight relief, before going on.

“This is going to hurt, but I’m going to move you. I need you to hold onto me.”

As carefully as he could, he positioned the Zora onto his back. Even though he was careful, the Zora was still hurt, and it let out a wail of pain as it was moved. Sidon could feel it’s muscles spasm in pain, but nonetheless, the Zora wrapped it’s arms around him. He could feel it’s claws sink into his skin for purchase, but the pain was almost nonexistent to Sidon as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

He swam back to the ship, doing his best not to jostle the Zora, who was whimpering in pain. He gave a warning to the Zora to hold on tighter, and the claws seemed to sink in even further if possible. Sidon climbed back onto the deck of his ship, and the alarm of the crew was apparent.

Sidon carefully shifted the Zora onto the floor of the deck, and when it let out another hiss of pain, the whole crew seemed to jump a foot back. A murmur overtook the crew, and Sidon quickly found himself at the end of his rope.

“Anne, Mako, front and center!” He hollered, and a hush fell over the ship as the two scurried to the front. “Anne, you take care of this Zora. Try your best to heal them, and if I find you have treated them any less than other patients, I _will_ throw you overboard. Mako, make a tank that can hold them, and hurry with it.”

Although Anne was the one who was threatened, she nodded and bowed elegantly, before looking over the Zora. She quickly called over her assistants, and together they carried the Zora to the med bay. Mako, meanwhile, nervously squeaked out a “Yes, sir!” and gave a hasty bow. He quickly scurried off to find his equipment, which left the rest of the crew with Sidon.

“What are you doing, gawking? This isn’t a broadway show, we’re on a schedule! Get back to work!” He scowled, and the crew hurriedly got back to their positions.

“Adé, you’re in charge,” He said simply, and the quartermaster nodded in response, handing Sidon back his shirt.

With that, Sidon made his way below deck, exhaustion settling into his bones.


	2. Healing Wounds

Getting off his soaked pants and boots was an adventure in itself. In the end, the pants were flung halfway across his room, soon to be forgotten. His boots were left by the window, hopefully not damaged from the water.  He pulled on a new pair of pants and his dry shirt, shaking his head to focus. He needed to check on the Zora, and see how Mako was doing on the tank. He also needed to decide on where to store both the tank and Zora, because he wasn’t sure how well his crew would handle having a Zora in a common area…

With a soft exhale, he slipped on his other pair of boots and his captain’s jacket. He supposed he should check on the Zora, but he felt his cheeks flush in shame as he remembered how he threatened Anne. He had been under stress, but it was no excuse for what he said. There was no point in thinking over it though. He would just have to apologize...profusely. Yes, profusely.

As he exited his room, he frowned a bit as he didn’t hear the usual flow of conversation from the upper deck. While his crew did do their jobs, they were often not silent, so this was odd. Did taking in the Zora really cause that much damage? It was a depressing thought, but he wouldn’t just _let_ the Zora die. The Zoras were also a race created by their goddesses, so he couldn’t just ignore them! No, let the goddesses smite him if he did.

Entering the med bay, he was surprised to see how calm it was. The medical center in Castle Town was always so hectic and busy, but he supposed that naturally this med bay would be still. The only people that are most likely to get hurt on board are the riggers, but they were careful enough in their work that the med bay hasn’t been used in a while. Naturally, that meant the Zora was the only one being worked on, and the only other people in the room was Anne and her assistant. The Zora was sleeping it seemed, judging by the slow rise and fall of their chest.

“How are they?” He asked, softly as not to disturb the patient.

“He.” Anne replied.

“He? How could you tell?” Sidon asked, surprised.

“For one, I could tell by his voice. I also checked his anatomy,” She answered nonchalantly.

Sidon found himself blushing, and almost raised his voice, but managed to just hiss fiercely, “Anne! That is indecent!”

She just grinned and shrugged. She used to run with pirates before she straightened out and got her degree in medicine, so she didn’t have much decency to begin with.

“He’s doing fine though, to answer your first question. Tricky part was removing the sword. Had to give him a sleeping potion so we could get it out without him moving around. While the sword didn’t damage anything too important, we used a fairy on him to knit the internal organs together and restore some blood. It couldn’t fix everything though, so I had to do some stitches. Hopefully he won’t scratch at them when he wakes.”

Sidon’s shoulders slowly relaxed as she spoke, the tenseness draining from him. For a moment, it felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders didn't exist. He no longer had the looming worry of the Zora dying on him. He came a bit closer to the Zora, spotting the stitches that Anne did. It wasn’t even that big of a wound, and it was odd to remember how much worse it was when they had found him. He couldn't imagine what would've happened to the Zora if his crew hadn't spotted him.

Sighing, he subconsciously leaned just a bit closer. To his surprise, the Zora also reacted to his presence, curling in his direction while a rumbling purr vibrated from his chest. Sidon could only blink, and wonder if that was normal.

He jumped when he heard Anne cough, and sheepishly looked back at her. It was also then he realized that he still hadn’t even apologized for his atrocious behavior towards her.

Taking a step back from the Zora, he straightened up and said, “I’m glad to see he’s doing okay. However, I need to apologize for earlier--”

“It’s fine,” She interrupted. When he gave her a bewildered look, she went on, “I was a pirate before this. I have been threatened with worse. Besides, you were stressed. Anyone can snap under certain conditions.”

“I, uh, still… I still feel bad about it,” Sidon softly admitted.

“Don’t. I’ll be alright. Just worry about being a captain.”

The guilt, while still there, faded quite a bit from Sidon. He knew there was no point to pressing further, and she meant it when she said she was okay. So, he told her and her assistant to alert him if the Zora got worse, and left them to check on Mako’s progress.

Mako was the only other person that had his own “room,” and he didn’t even sleep in it. It was an old supply room, where Mako made all his inventions and maps. Normally, an inventor like him wouldn’t get _anything_ like this, but since he was such a good map maker and valuable part of the crew, he earned it. Sidon was happy for it too, since it meant Mako could work on that tank in private.

He knocked on the door, and heard a muffled “Come in!” from inside, before opening the door. He winced a bit at the loud squeak the door’s hinges produced, but Mako seemed undisturbed from his work. Sidon found himself wondering why Mako didn’t oil the hinges (he certainly had enough oil to do so), but quickly focused on the task at hand.

From the looks of it, the tank was clearly not ready yet. However, Mako certainly had more done than Sidon expected him to. The glass sides of the tank were already cut out and polished, so it was clear to look through. The frame of the tank was halfway there, Mako currently working on shaping more of the rods needed to complete the frame.

“You work fast, Mako! It seems you will be done in no time!” Sidon spoke, feeling a bit more cheerful at seeing the good progress.

“Oh, thank you, captain! I-I don’t think “no time” is accurate though, it was still take some time to assemble and fill.. Probably a few more hours..” The inventor responded.

“Yes, yes, I know. But that is faster than anyone else could make it! Usually one would take a few days, so I’m impressed because it’s only taking you half a day!”

The poor inventor, not used to compliments, was going red in the face and fumbled with his equipment. “O-oh, thank you, s-sir!” He managed to squeak out.

Sidon couldn’t help chuckling a little, before deciding not to stay and further fluster Mako. So he simply told the inventor he would come back at night, when they could transfer the Zora into the tank. Mako nodded quickly, and the prince left the room, wincing once again at the squeaking of hinges.

Now that that was out of the way, he supposed he had enough rest to actually get back to captaining his ship. Gonzo and Adé were probably tired as well, and they deserved to get some shut eye.

With that in mind, he made his way up to the deck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention, there's a song with the same title by The Devil's Carnival. It's a great song, but it doesn't actually indicate any plot for this story. 
> 
> I also know that this is somewhat short. The next chapters will hopefully get longer as plot is added.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When in quotes, italics will represent a language other than Hylian.

It hurts. He hurts. He felt like a whale had hit him with it’s tail at full force. He felt as if he washed ashore and had been baking in the sun for days. Although, as his consciousness came back to him, he slowly realized that he _was_ awfully dry. It was an uncomfortable feeling, with his scales starting to flake and the feeling as if his eyes were crusted over. It didn’t help his pain at all.

Slowly, he forced his eyes to open, and was thankful that his surroundings were dim. His vision blurred still, his pain still taking so much out of him that he couldn't focus. He saw something dark take shape over him, and from the presence of heat he assumed it was another person.

“You awake, guppy? About time, you had me worried for a bit. How’re you feeling?”

That...didn’t sound Zoran. He could still recognize it and the words being said, but in his haze he just couldn’t place what it was. Nonetheless, in response to the question, he let out a deep warbling noise, hoping that would suffice as an answer as he couldn't even bring himself to speak.

“That bad, eh?” The owner of the voice let’s out a sigh. Or at least he thinks it’s them who sigh.

He’s distantly aware that they move away, but he blanks out on what they do after. He only jolts back to reality when there’s something cold pressed against his lips.

“Drink. It’ll dull the pain.”

He obeys, drinking as fast as the person would let him. When he’s finished and the glass is taken away, he can immediately feel the effects taking place. A warm fuzzy feeling blooms in his gut, while simultaneously numbing the area. It was a strange mix, to say the least. Still, it did it's job, as the pain fades into nothingness.

Blinking his eyes open once more (odd, he hadn't even realized he closed them again), his vision started to clear up. He took in the wooden interior of his room, then the dry state of the room. By the smell of salt water, he could tell he was close to the sea—his home—which naturally eased him despite not knowing his whereabouts. More importantly, he took in the sight of two Hylians in the room with him. The feminine one was looking over him, holding an empty glass bottle in her hands, while the masculine one was organizing a shelf of what looked like medicines.

“Feeling better?” The feminine one asked, and yep, it was definitely her that had been talking to him in his dazed state.

Staring dumbly at her, he didn't know what else to do besides nodding in response.

“Oh good, that’s a relief. I wasn't sure if this potion would work that well on a Zora.”

He continued to just stare at her, confused on just what was happening. He couldn't remember how he got here. The last thing he remembered was leading an attack on a pirate ship, but... these Hylians were clearly not pirates. Besides, pirates would rather harvest him for his scales or eyes, not heal him. Perhaps the potion was dulling his emotions too, because he was pretty sure he should be panicking instead of thinking this through.

She turned from him to look at the other Hylian, and said, “Hugo, could you get a bucket of ocean water? The Zora’s drying up.”

“Link.”

“Hm?” She looked back at him, eyebrows quirked up in interest and surprise. She hadn’t expected him to speak, it seems.

“ _My name is_ Link,” He spoke again, seeing as it didn’t look like she caught on. However, he belatedly realized that although he could understand her fine, she could not understand him. He went to raise his hands, to do hand motions for her to catch on, but he didn’t need to as she interrupted.

“Is that your name? Link?”

He blinked owlishly, surprised, before giving a little nod. Or as much of a nod he could manage while laying down. She grinned at him, a dash of mischievousness in her eyes, and said, “Don’t look so surprised. I’m observant.”

Silence fell upon them and Anne went on to scrutinize him, making it anything but comfortable. He knew she was going over a mental checklist as she eyed his stitches and dry scales, but that didn’t really help anything.

Feeling a bit out of his element (or extremely awkward, if he was being truthful), he looked anywhere but her. Heat rushed to his cheeks, and the blue tone of his skin made it very obvious, as it turned into a not so subtle purple. He didn’t know what it was about this lady, but he almost felt like a fumbling guppy under the gaze of an elder Zora. Imagine what Zelda would say, seeing him, a skilled warrior, shrink under a Hylian’s eye. Well, she probably wouldn’t say anything, she would just laugh.

Thankfully, Hugo came back soon enough with a bucket full of salt water. Link almost heaved a sigh of relief as Anne turned away from him to thank Hugo and take the bucket. She found a rag to soak up the water in one of the nightstands at the side of his bed (which looked clean, thank the Goddesses). Without further ado, she dipped the rag into the water and ran it over his dry gills.

It was suddenly so much easier to breath. He hadn’t realized how strenuous it was before. It was almost like a thick sheet had been pulled off of him. He found himself relaxing, letting Anne continue with applying the salt water.

She was silent for most of the process, but when she was finishing up, she spoke up, “If you need more water, you're going to have to apply it yourself. I’m a caretaker, not a maid.”

He made a harsh, clicking noise, the equivalent of a huff.

“Oh? Is that attitude, young man?” She replied, grinning and playfully whacking him with the wet rag.

Link jumped at the whack, but finally smiled back. He made a show of grumpily turning onto his side, back facing her.

“C’mon, Mr. Grumpy Gills. You're a big boy, you can do this yourself,” She teased.

He turned his head so she could see the side of his face and stuck out his tongue at her. She didn’t expect the tongue, nor did she expect just how similar it was to a Hylian child, which was mostly the reason why she suddenly bursted into laughter. It was so weird to see, but oddly funny nonetheless.

Link was thrown off by her laughter, and rolled onto his back to face her again. He watched silently as her face turned a bit red and tears gathered in her eyes. It struck him just how similar this was to any Zora. He never considered that Hylians were like them. Sure, he’d seen anger and bloodlust from Hylians in battle, so he knew that they had to have some capacity of other emotions. It was still a shock to him though, as this was the first time he saw a Hylian exhibit joy.

For the first time in his life, he found himself wondering how much Hylian blood covered his hands.

**Author's Note:**

> I have sunk deeper into this ship..
> 
> Anyways, if you would like to see how the characters look so far: http://68.media.tumblr.com/ca495147c8828549711d43e48b632d4a/tumblr_oo2qhtMAQy1rsx1tmo2_1280.png
> 
> I will post more designs and updates on my tumblr account if people end up being interested in this!: http://artstalia.tumblr.com/


End file.
